Gabourey Sidibe was a complete unknown when she beat out hundreds of other candidates in a nationwide casting call for the lead role in Lee Daniels‘ Precious, but that quickly changed once the film actually came out. The young star garnered tons of acclaim for her fearless performance, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, and now it’s tough to imagine anyone but Sidibe ever playing that part. Like, say, Jennifer Hudson.

In a new book, the Oscar-winning Dreamgirls star reveals that she was asked at one point to audition for the role, but turned it down because she didn’t want to gain the weight. More after the jump.

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I’d like you all to do something for me. When you watch this trailer for Peter and Bobby Farrelly‘s The Three Stooges, I’d like you to picture Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro in the roles that are now occupied by Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos. Because the fact that Penn, Carrey and Del Toro had even thought about doing this movie is totally insane, seeing what eventually came out of the project. I’m sure what they would have made might not have borne much of a likeness to this, because it couldn’t have been the disaster that this appears to be. But it’s fun to think about — a lot more fun than you’ll get out of this trailer, I bet. Read More »

Fox’s upcoming The Three Stooges, a long-time dream project of comedy directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, is an object of curiosity for me. The movie has bounced through a couple studios, and once almost rolled with a high-profile cast that included Jim Carrey, Sean Penn and Benecio del Toro. Things fell apart, and early this year the project landed at Fox. Then it moved quickly, assembling a cast that includes Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe Howard, Sean Hayes as Larry Fine, Will Sasso as Curly Howard, and Jane Lynch, Larry David (playing a nun!), Sofía Vergara, Jennifer Hudson, Stephen Collins, and Carly Craig.

We’ve seen a few set photos and little else. Now there is a poster image of sorts, but it shies away from really revealing the new Stooges. (Even the old banner above shows more.) Check it out below. Read More »

I’m very curious to see what Peter and Bobby Farrelly have done with The Three Stooges, which is a film they’ve wanted to make for years, and eventually shot early this year in Atlanta with Sean Hayes as Larry, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, and Will Sasso as Curly. Have they come up with something that will have any of the iconic comic appeal of the original Stooges? That seems impossible, given the fact that they’re making this film in a totally different comedy landscape. Turns out that we’ll find out what they’ve done with it in April of next year. Read More »

Shooting for the Farrelly Brothers‘ The Three Stooges has already begun in Atlanta, but it seems casting for the film isn’t over quite yet. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson has just joined in the role of Sister Rosemary, a nun who works at the orphanges where the Stooges grow up. If you’ve been following the project, you’ll recall that her colleagues at the orphange will include Mother Superior, played by Jane Lynch, and Mother Mengele, played by Larry David. I’m going to go ahead and guess that Hudson will be playing the straight man within that holy trio — or as Deadline puts it, “the nice one.”

In addition to Hudson, Lynch, and David, the cast also includes Sean Hayes as Larry, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Will Sasso as Curly, and Sofia Vergara as “a femme fatale.”

After the jump, Bradley Cooper agrees to butt heads with Ryan Gosling, and Rachael Taylor gets paid to sleep with James Marsden.

Elias Koteas has never been one of the more high-profile character actors out there, but he’s always one of my favorites. (Not because of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where he played Casey Jones, but for films like Crash and The Adjuster.) Directors like David Fincher and Martin Scorsese have started using Koteas, which has increased his profile, and now he’s cast in Winnie, the biopic about Winnie Mandela.

He joins Terrence Howard and Jennifer Hudson, who play Nelson and Winnie Mandela. Koteas will be De Vries, “an overzealous officer in the apartheid police stage who rises in power and becomes intent on stopping Winnie and the black anti-apartheid activists from gaining power.” So not a role that audiences will look kindly on, but a major role. I’ll take it. [THR]

After the break, Green Lantern gets a dad and Fred Ward and Jessica Chastain book new roles. Read More »

Jennifer Hudson made a splash on American Idol, then quickly went on to win an Oscar for her debut role in Dreamgirls, but we haven’t seen much of her onscreen since. Now she’s got a follow-up role to her big breakthrough: in Winnie, she’ll play Winnie Mandela, wife to South African president Nelson Mandela.

Directing is South African filmmaker Darrell J. Roodt, who was behind Yesterday and Sarafina! The script is from Roodt, Andre Pieterse and Paul L. Johnson, from the biography Winnie Mandela: A Life, by Anne Marie du Preez. Winnie Mandela fought apartheid alongside her husband, and was jailed for demanding his release, but she faced legitimate legal troubles down the road. Variety also reports that Hudson is expected to sing the theme for the film.

After the break, another Winnie movie, more for the Christina Aguilera film Burlesque, and Stephen Root bolsters two already solid casts. Read More »

Peach Arch has released the trailer for Rowan Woods’ ensemble indie drama Winged Creatures. The film has a fantastic cast which includes Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Jackie Earle Haley, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Hudson, Dakota Fanning, and Josh Hutcherson, but the story seems a big forced and reeks of Oscar bait. It also has a kinda low-fi Crash vibe. The story follows five traumatized people as they struggle to regain their trust in the ordinary world. The official plot synopsis follows:

“A moment of random violence erupts in an ordinary Los Angeles diner. The survivors (Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker, Josh Hutcherson) find that the meanings of their lives have changed. No matter how much their families and friends (Jennifer Hudson, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Embeth Davidtz) attempt to understand, these individuals must follow their own paths to recovery seeking to regain trust in a world that now seems chaotic.A story of tragedy and hope for our times, Winged Creatures is a powerful ensemble drama that explores the notion that our lives are fleeting, like birds in flight, like winged creatures.”

Dreamgirls star Anika Noni Rose has signed on to voice Maddy in Disney’s The Frog Princess. Rose will become Disney’s first black princess in the first hand-drawn film Disney has committed to since the Pixar purchase. The film promises to return to the Broadway-style musical in the likes of the successful Disney animated films such as Walt’s classics.

Written/directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, the animated musical scored by Randy Newman, is set in New Orleans. The movie follows Maddy, a young African-American girl who lives in the infamous French Quarter. The new movie will feature a soulful singing crocodile and voodoo spells.

“This movie is gonna be a classic as you’ve never seen before.” – John Lasseter

Earlier this year it was reported that Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys were also being considered for the role. I’m wondering why Hudson passed? I’m sure she was probably the studios first choice. The Frog Princess will hit theaters in 2009.